Ultra High Net Worth Individuals’ Wealth Surpasses Combined GDP of US and China

New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Hedge fund research resource Wealth-X has launched the latest edition of its World Ultra Wealth Report.

Highlights include:

The world’s ultra wealthy population grew by 0.6% to reach 187,380 and their combined wealth shrank by 1.8% to reach $25.8 trillion

The world’s billionaire population grew by 9.4% to reach 2,160 individuals. Combined wealth attributable to billionaires grew by 14% to reach $6.2 trillion

Asian ultra high net worth individuals combined wealth is expected to overtake that of the United States by 2025, seven years earlier than previously expected

Collectively, wealth attributable to global ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) surpasses the combined GDP of the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China.

Reuters reports that although billionaires got richer, many millionaires lost ground.

“Hardest hit globally were those in the $200 million to $499 million range, whose numbers dropped 9.9 percent and whose fortunes shrank 11.4 percent….. the really, really rich got even richer as the number of billionaires rose 9.4 percent to 2,160 people and their wealth grew 14 percent to $6.2 trillion.”

“Billionaires outperformed the markets while the rest of the world’s UHNWIs struggled to keep pace.” Mykolas D. Rambus, CEO of Wealth-X, said of the report, “There are clear opportunities for advisers to replicate investment strategies of billionaires for their UHNW clients.”